Cartridges suitable to take the 'big 5' are anything equaling or exceeding the power of the .375 H&H. The .375 ruger is quickly becoming very very popular because its flat shooting and more powerful.

I think the .338 lapua would be a good choice for longer range shots at the big 5 but you have to use top end bullets. Barnes TSXs for sure., and Id still be hesitant to use it on the bigger cats.. Its got the velocity and the accuracy. problem is the bullets are on the light side due to bore diameter.

.458 lott is essentially the special version of the .458 win mag. its an african big 5 hunting cartridge. not to be taken lightly. inside of 200 yds it is like a shoulder fired howitzer.. I say 200 because of the rainbow trajectory of the meteor like projectiles. They run out of velocity fast and gravity reminds them that they arent airplanes rather quickly. But boy do they hit. Dont hold me to it but I think the lott generates in the ballpark of 8500 ft lbs of energy on target at 100 yds. Thats 3 times the .30-06

Click to expand...

Got a buddy that uses his 458 Lott for a ground hog gun. That thing sounds like a Howitzer recoils like a Howitzer and hits like a Howitzer inside 200 yards. He shot 1 the day we went out didn't even had to throw that one in a hole. After it blew his guts out (REALLY) it dug a crater that looked like a meteor the size of a smart car hit right there. All we did was push some of the dirt back in the hole with our feet.

Almost as cool was when he took his 270 weatherby out for ground hogs.